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The standalone version of DayZ was released on Steam Early Access in mid-December.
The standalone version of open-world survival game DayZ is off to a remarkable start, having sold over 800,000 copies in less than three weeks — a figure that far outpaces the amount its developer hoped to sell in the game’s first three months.
In a comment on Reddit, DayZ creator Dean Hall explained what the expectations for the game were and what this outpouring of support means for the game.
“We ([publisher Bohemia Interactive] and I) had very ambitious plans for 2014 already, however this amount of sales was completely unexpected,”
he wrote.
“Honestly, 250k within a quarter was what I would have considered a success. So to move nearly 800,000 in under a month is crazy.
“We’ll be finalizing our roadmap in mid January, but it is safe to say that this kind of result will be having a very positive effect on that roadmap.”
DayZ started out as a mod for PC shooter ArmA II and quickly became incredibly popular. Hall had aspirations of turning the mod into a standalone game from the start, with that project officially being announced in mid-2012. The game has already served as the inspiration for a number of other games — some more so than others — and last month an alpha version was released on Steam as an Early Access game.
In just 12 hours, it had already seen 88,000 downloads and was attracting new player registrations at a rate of 200 per second. Now, less than three weeks later, DayZ is well on its way to one million units sold, and all without the benefit of a Steam sale — the game was routinely among the top sellers on Steam during the Steam Holiday Sale despite not being on sale.
Hall is admirably not shy about cautioning some people away from buying the game at this stage. Games in Early Access can be at many different stages of development, some more complete and playable than others. While DayZ is playable, it’s far from finished. After explaining that buying the alpha now gets you the full version once it’s released, Hall advised one prospective buyer on Reddit,
“I would recommend a very careful and critical review of whether purchasing now is such a good idea. There are many problems which can ruin your gameplay experience. These are being actively fixed – but if you delayed your purchase by a month you would pay the same price but it would be a better experience. Something to consider.”
Edgar Wright has been updating his daily photoblog once more, with an animated Ant-Man image the latest snap to make its way online.
The image is taken from the animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and more specifically, an episode in which Scott Lang steals the original Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym.
It’s a choice of image that has led some internet commentators to suggest that it may be Lang rather than Pym that Wright has in mind for his protagonist.
It has long been assumed that Pym could be the leading man, but it’s worth noting that Marvel’s official confirmation of star Paul Rudd didn’t contain any mention of his alter-ego…
In addition to that, Wright had previously expressed an idea for the film way back in 2006, in which Lang would become the lead character.
“You actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60′s,” suggested Wright, “in sort of Tales To Astonish mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story.”
We’ll find out for sure when Ant-Man opens in the US on 31 July 2015, with a UK date to be confirmed.
Another day, another batch of Batman vs. Superman rumours, with the latest updates coming from reputable superhero source, Batman On Film.
The site apparently has the lowdown on the new film, and claims that not only will Lex Luthor be featured, but he won’t be the only villain on display, with another Superman antagonist apparently lined up.
Describing the picture as “truly a Superman film”, the site goes on to speculate that Gal Gadot’s role as Wonder Woman will be an extended cameo, with a view to setting up a solo movie further down the track.
The report predicts her involvement to be comparable to that of Black Widow in Iron Man 2, which would probably make sense, given the top billing of the two eponymous heroes.
Plenty to chew on there until we get some more concrete details from Warner.
Directed by Zack Snyder, and co-starring Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck, Batman Vs. Superman will open world wide on 17 July 2015.
Yesterday, Intel announced its plans to run Android and Windows on the same PC in perfect harmony. Now, it seems AMD has the exact same plan.
Verge reports that AMD is teaming up with BlueStacks to develop technology which will allow Android to run within Windows, on the same piece of silicon, in a way that seems seamless to the end user. According to Verge, you’ll be able to “launch individual Android apps from the Windows 8 Start Screen just like they were native Windows programs”, as well as being able to search for new Android apps via Microsoft’s own Windows 8 search charm, as long as you link app stores into the search system.
But there’s perhaps a trick up AMD’s sleeve that’ll make Intel jealous: it’s latest chips will include an ARM chip inside. That’s the same silicon that Android apps normally use, and it could mean that Android apps are run on their native chip design, making them way more efficient. That’s a pretty big ‘could’, but it would be cool if it works out—especially when it comes to saving battery life, because virtualization of Android on another system uses a lot of juice.
Just as with Intel’s offering, it’s not clear how popular a Windows-Android hybrid device will be. But, hey, it looks like we’re getting them regardless.
Every year, the TVs, phones and gadgets at CES seem to get bigger and bigger – but Intel’s reversing the trend with its brand new computer, the Intel Edison, which fits everything you need into a board the size and shape of an SD card. Raspberry Pi, eat your heart out.
This might look like the storage card for your compact camera, but make no mistake, this is a computer, with its own 22nm dual-core processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
It can run multiple operating systems, including Linux, and will be available for manufacturers and hobbyists this summer – price is still TBC, but we’re hoping it’s as low as the £25 Raspberry Pi computer.
Intel’s making a big push with wearable technologies this year at CES in Las Vegas – the company also showed off its own smartwatch prototype yesterday, although it is not planning to release it to the public – and it’s betting big that Edison will play a part in that.
One of its demonstrations showed the little computer working in harmony with sensor’s connected on a baby’s onesie, displaying temperature and even turning on a bottle warmer when the baby started to wake.
When you consider what hackers have turned the Raspberry Pi into, a robot, a media centre, a pet feeder and much more besides, the ideas a computer this small could be put to are dazzling.
